Fill the Oil Jars
I was reading this morning about when one of Elisha’s fellow prophets passed away and left a widow behind. She came to Elisha to pour out her troubles about losing her husband but also to tell him that creditors were coming to take her sons as slaves. Sounds like a pretty ROUGH situation to be in.
I know we have each been in HARD situations during this life or if we haven’t yet, we will be soon.
The prophet asks her a simple question. “Tell me what it is you have in your house”
He doesn’t just HELP her right away and it may seem strange that in this time of such trouble and turmoil that he asks what she has in her house right? Well…….
She responds with saying. “Your servant has nothing there at all, except a little oil.”
It turns out that “A little oil” was all that she needed.
Elisha then says to her,
“Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and she the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side”
Fill the Oil Jars
The widow does as asked and every jar is filled to the top and once the last jar is filled the miraculous flow of oil stops. She then goes back to report to Elisha and he tells her to sell the oil and repay her debts.
How did this miracle start, it started with SOMETHING. A little oil.
Sometimes in life we have HUGE goals right? I know that I did and the inside conversation that I was having with myself at the time was that I didn’t have enough. Enough people skills, enough “followers”, enough marketing skills, enough time, and enough believe in MYSELF. So its kind of like what this widow said, “Your servant has nothing there at all” That is how I felt. I don’t have anything at all.
We often tend to focus on what we DON’T have. Like this widow, she didn’t have anything except “a little oil” but a little oil was the vessel for an extraordinary MIRACLE.
I want you to realize that often times we ALL excuse ourselves from going after our purpose, goals, or dreams because we tend to believe that we don’t have enough for God to work with. We feel inadequate, we have a lack of training, we have awkward people skills, or not enough experience. Are you with me? Am I speaking to some of your thoughts?
One of the enemy’s most EFFICIENT strategies is to get you to focus on what you do not have, what you used to have, or someone else that has what you wish you had. This keeps YOU from saying, “What can YOU do with what I have”? Remember that if you can focus on what you DO have and ask for help, God can work miracles through you and your life. I can attest to this wholeheartedly. SOOOO my question to you today is. Are you willing to focus on the talents, gifts, and uniqueness that God blessed you with and share THOSE with the world?